His Angel
by sophiaelise
Summary: Before he was known as Bane, a young boy lived in the hell known as the Pit. One day a female prisoner gives birth to a baby girl, and suddenly Issa's whole life revolves around this infant. A story of compassion, and how Bane came to love Talia.
1. Chapter 1

Pained cries startled Issa from his fastidious sleep. He was one of the younger prisoners, and not to say he couldn't hold his own in a fight, but falling into too deep a slumber was not a good idea for someone who wanted to stay alive down in the Pit. The cries were getting louder, and through the haze of his half asleep mind, Issa registered the thought that the woman prisoner was finally giving birth.

Stealthily as he could, Issa slipped from his cot, and approached the woman's cell. There were multiple healers surrounding her, along with the prison doctor, yet it did nothing to quell the helpless screams of agony coming from her mouth. Issa was young, around fifteen he figured, though it was near impossible to keep track of time in the Pit. Although he was young, he was well aware of what was going on, and if he were being honest with himself, was in complete awe of watching a child being born.

"Boy, come, we need all the help we can get." Barked one of the medics in Arabic. Scrambling from his spot at the bars of the cell, Issa opened the door as little as possible and slipped through, as a medic rushed past him handing him a wet cloth and locking the cell door once more. Issa knew about childbirth, but that was not to say he knew how to birth a child. He stood, lost, for quite a few moments before the prison doctor instructed him to keep the damp cloth on the woman's heated forehead.

Hours passed. It had still been dark out when the cries of the woman in labor had awoken Issa. The sun was well overhead now, and finally the child was safely out of the womb. However, the mother hardly had time to name her newborn before collapsing from exhaustion.

"Talia..." She had said, a faint smile gracing her lips. Within seconds of the mother passing out, Issa found himself being handed the newborn child. At first he was wary. What if he hurt it? The Pit was no place for gentleness. And yet, as he gazed into the wide blue eyes of the baby girl, Talia, he felt something akin to compassion for this poor helpless creature, brought into a literal living hell by no fault of her own.

"Hello, Talia." Issa whispered hesitantly to the warm bundle in his arms. She _was_ warm. That was one of the most predominant things about her. She was a source of warmth, of innocence in this cold, dark Hell on Earth. It felt right, holding the child close to his chest, whispering words to her that she would not be able to understand for the next few years of her fragile life.

But all too soon, the mother was well enough to take back her child, and Issa was escourted back to his own cell, where he sat, thoughts consumed with worry for the feeble lives of the mother and daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

In the years that passed, Issa watched the struggling family. When he sensed they were in danger, he would descreetly take care of the offender. Issa grew, as all boys do, and became tall and muscular. Much more so than any man his age in the Pit.

It was hard to keep track of the years, even by counting winters, though Issa deemed himself twenty years old now. He trained his body constantly, and no prisoner dared cross him, lest he snap thier neck.

He had become widely known throughout the prison as 'Bane'. The first time he had heard the name, he had been almost surprised. He only killed when he thought necessary, and never initiated any fights that he didn't need to. But Talia was nearing what he thought must be five, and her mother was growing weaker by the day. The doctor was making constant trips into the shared cell, the prisoners eyeing the mother the whole time.

Issa was down fetching water when he heard the screams. At first it was just the woman, but as soon as the child realized what was going on, her cries of terror were added to the cacophony. Issa had never ran so fast in his life. Sheer terror for the child swept through him like a tornado as he sprinted the distance to the cell.

A group of men already had the mother, and were in the process of unclothing her. Talia was doing everything in her power to protect her mother, which at the feeble age of five was not much. Until she pulled out a knife. Issa watched, clamouring through the watching crowd, as the young girl got in one good stab to the prisoner's back.

As the man turned to grab the child, Issa broke through the crowd, and slammed his fist against the man's nose. Issa had no time to register the crack oh his hand against the inmate's face, nor the splitting pain in his surely broken hand, as he swept the young child off her feet and ran with her as far as he could away from the screams of the girl's mother.

"Where's my mommy? Where is she? What are they going to do to her? I want my mommy back!" Talia cried against Issa's shoulder. How could he possibly explain to this child that hermother was being viciously raped and killed? He couldn't. He could not bring himself to tell the child the harsh reality of her situation. No. He was her protector now, her guardian, and he would sheild her from the evil of the Pit for as long as he could.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm here. You're alright," He stroked the child's hair with the hand that was not throbbing in pain. He needed to move her somewhere safer than the half wall they were leaning against. "I'm going to take you back to my cell, and you are going to stay with me, alright?" Talia nodded, taking a tighter hold around his neck as Issa crept back to his cell, closing and locking the door behind them.

Setting Talia down on his bed, he removed a small roll of gauze from his pillowcase and began wrapping his hand with it.

"I'm sorry." Talia's quiet voice came from the cot they would now have to share.

"For what?"

"It's my fault you broke your hand."

Issa knelt down beside the small girl, and cupped her tiny face in his much larger hands. "I broke my hand because I had to protect you, don't be sorry for it little one." She did not look overly pleased with the answer she was given, but opted for changing the subject.

"You watch Mommy and I a lot, don't you?"

"Yes," he said, pulling away to finish the bandaging on his hand. "I have watched you since you were born."

"Why?"

"I needed to." Did all children ask this many questions, Issa wondered to himself.

"So then you already know who I am." She was unrelenting in her interrogation.

"Yes, Talia, I know who you are." There was a faint smile on his face, hidden by the cloth that covered his mouth.

"What's your name then?"

"They call me...Bane."


	3. Chapter 3

Thunder boomed loud in the sky above the pit. It had been five months since the rape and murder of Talia's mother. Not that Bane knew this for it was only possible to judge time by whether or not the harsh winter had passed. Bane hated the thunder. It was a reminder of every cold, wet night he had spent in the pit; alone, starving, and frightened.

Another clap of thunder passed overhead, and Bane shivered from his spot on the floor, where he had taken to sleeping since Talia had moved in with him. Which was rediculous; he told himself. It was just a loud noise, and he was a grown man. That still didn't stop the shudder that ran down his spine with the subsequent boom from the sky.

Unbeknownst to him, Talia was still awake as well. However, Talia quite enjoyed thunderstorms. To her they were the angry shouts of some higher being (her mother had read her stories out of a thick book with a cross on the front, though Talia didn't quite grasp the concept of a man sitting in the sky watching her every move) who was ranting at the unfairness of the world.

The slight shuffling sound of shifting cloth drew her attention to the balled up form laying on the ground. A few minutes of observation revealed to her that her companion was not enjoying this loud entity as much as she was.

The beauty of her time with her protector was that neither of them talked very often, nor did they have to. The simplest of glances could convey everything that needed to be said. Talia stared at the shaking form of the grown man in surprise (after all, he was so strong what could he possibly be scared of?) before gathering the blanket around herself like a cloak and making her way down to her friend. Without words, Talia placed the blanket over him, causing him to jolt upright.

"You don't like the thunder." He loved this about her. Her ability to observe, and state things without question. For her age, he had to admit, she was incredibly intellegent.

"Come share the cot with me, I won't let it hurt you."

Bane's smile was almost tangible. The love and trust this child had given him still astounded him, and he felt his heart swell with his love for her as he climbed into the cot, wrapping the blanket around the both of them.

For a few moments it was quiet, save for the thunder. Though he really ought to have known better than to think Talia would not bring up the matter at hand.

"Bane..." He could feel those big, inquisitive, blue eyes boring into his face.

"Yes, little one?"

"Why does the thunder scare you? I mean, _nothing _can hurt you...right?"

A dry chuckle escaped his lips, oh the faith she had in him. Yet he found himself telling her of his childhood.

"Once upon a time (like a fairytale, he thought. What a joke.) there was a beautiful woman. Though beautiful, she was just a peasant. Her...husband (she had been raped, but he would not tell this to Talia) had left her on the streets, not knowing she was pregnant with a baby boy.

"Year after year, the woman found ways to keep her son fed and healthy (she had been a prostitute). Sometimes, the poor woman had to steal if they had gone too long without food. One night, there was a royal banquet at the Imam's palace. The woman figured that there was enough food to go around, and the portion she stole would not be missed.

"But the moment she snuck into the palace, the Imam's son was enchanted by her beauty. He gave her all the food she needed, and requested that she visit him later that night. The visits soon became very frequent, and the Imam's son and the beautiful woman were very much in love.

"This didn't last for long. One night, as the woman snuck into the Imam's palace to see his son, the Imam caught her. To avoid punishment, the Imam's son claimed that she had snuck into his room and had tried to kill him. The woman was heartbroken, as she had loved the Imam's son very much, and was sentenced to execution the next morning.

"Her son, who had been hiding, watching the whole thing, as he did not trust the Imam's son, was discovered. He was thrown into the Pit as his mother watched, the last thing she would see before excecution the next morning. There was lots of thunder that night."

"You were the son..." The words were a mere whisper, drawn from Talia's lips. Bane felt a warm wetness against the crook of his neck, where her head lay. She was crying for him. This thought, this act of compassion made is own eyes sting with the threat of tears, as he pulled the small child closer to his chest.

"Yes. I was."

"It's okay. I'm here. And I will protect you now." She whispered back, mimicking his words from the day of her own mother's death.

The tears fell now, and he lay a kiss upon her head, burying his face in her shaved hair, "As will I protect you." And they both drifted off into sleep, nuzzled in each other's arms.


End file.
